Cushioned shipping folder



Dec. 31, 1963 B. T. sKAGGs CUSHIONED SHIPPING FOLDER Filed March 28, 1962 llll It viv United States Patent O 3,116,005 CUSHNED SHEPING FOLDER Boyd T, Skaggs, Anderson, Ind., assignor to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 28, 1962, Ser. No. 183,236 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-40) This invention relates to shipping containers, and more particularly to a cushioned shipping folder adapted for use in the packaging, mailing, or shipping of fragile articles, such as phonograph records.

An object of the invention is the provision of a shipping folder formed from a unitary blank of paperboard and constructed and arranged with a double wall construction at each end defining a space or cell for cushioning the contents of the folder. K

A more specic object of the invention is the provision, in a folder of the type described, of a novel means for forming the end cushioning cells which will permit the folder to be used for articles of varying sizes by merely changing the location of certain cut and score lines on the folder.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from an examination of the following description and drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a cushioned shipping folder embodying features of the invention;

FiGURE 2 is a longitudinal section taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE l; and

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of a blank from which the cushioned shipping folder of the other views may be formed.

It will be understood that, for purposes of clarity, certain elements have been intentionally omitted from certain views, where they are illustrated to better advantage in other views.

Referring now to the drawings, for a better understanding of the invention, it will be seen that the one piece folder illustrated in FIGURE 1 may be formed from the unitary blank B of sheet material such as foldable paperboard illustrated in FGURE 3 of the drawing.

The blank B may be cut and scored to provide a series of serially hingedly interconnected panels which fold together to form the closed tubular structure of FIGURE l.

As best seen in FIGURE l, at the central portion of the blank there is formed a generally rectangular bottom wall panel indicated generally at 10. It will be understood that the terms bottom and top will be used throughout the description of the invention for purposes of illustration, but that the relative positions of these panels can be interchanged without departing from the basic inventive concept.

Hingedly attached to opposite side edges of bottom wall panel 10, along hinge lines 12, are a pair of relatively narrow, elongated side wall panels 14 which are co-extensive with the bottom wall panel 10. At their opposite side edges, side wall panels 14 have hingedly attached thereto, along hinge lines 16, a pair of top Wall panels 1S, which are coextensive with the panels 10 and 14, and which are approximately one-half the width of the bottom wall panel 1t?. Thus, when the top wall panels 1S are folded over the bottom wall panel lil as the folder is assembled in the manner described later in the specification, the combined widths of the panels 18 will be approximately equal to the width of the panel 10.

At opposite ends of bottom wall panel there are provided a pair of inner closure flaps Ztl which are coextensive with the end edges of panel 1t) and which have mner side edges disposed immediately adjacent the end edges of the panel 10 when the blank is in a at condition.

Each flap 2t) may be connected to the adjacent end ICC of panel 1li by one or more connecting flaps 22, each of which is cut from adjacent portions of bottom wall panel 1@ and the related tlap 2t) along the parallel cut lines 26 and which is hinged to the bottom wall panel and flap along the hinge lines 24 which extend parallel to each other and to the end edge of bottom wall panel 1t) and normal to the cut lines 26. Thus, as best seen in FIG- URE l, when the inner closure aps Ztl are folded over into parallel spaced relation with bottom wall panel 10, connecting ilaps 22 are spaced inwardly from the end edges of the bottom wall panel so as to form interrupted or partial inner end wall panels.

At opposite ends each of the top wall panels 18 is provided with an outer closure ap 30 which is connected thereto by an outer-connecting panel or outer end wall panel 32 hingedly attached along opposite side edges on hinge lines 34 to the adjacent edges of panel 1S and flap 39. It will be noted that end wall panels 32 and outer closure tlaps Sil are substantially co-extensive with the end edges of panels 18 and that the inner hinge lines 34 which define the end limits of the panels 18 are in substantial alignment with the end edges 3S of the side wall panels 14 and the end edges 2S of the bottom wall panel 10.

Thus, when the folder is assembled, as seen in FIG- URE 1,'the bottom wall panel, the side wall panels, and the top wall panels are co-extensive with each other and have their end edges in alignment with the end edges of the inner closure flaps Ztl, so that the outer end wall panels 32 are spaced outwardly from the inner end wall panels or connecting ilaps 22 to deline therewith at opposite ends of the folder spaces or cells which serve to cushion the contents of the folder.

To assemble the folder, which can be done manually or by machine, the article to be packaged is placed on the upper or inner surface of bottom wall panel 10. The inner closure aps 20 are then folded into the position shown in FIGURE 1 so as to be in parallel spaced relation with the bottom wall panel 1t). The side and top wall panels are then folded over into the position shown in FIGURE 1 with the top wall panels being co-planar with each other and in parallel spaced relation with the bottom wall panel 1t). The inner surfaces of the top wall panels are preferably in full face abutting relationship with the outer surfaces of inner closure flaps 20. Also the outer closure flaps 34) are folded around the ends of the folder and into full face abutting relationship with the outer surface of bottom wall panel 10, and may be secured thereto in any desired manner, such as by means of an adhesive, not shown. Also, the inner or abutting free edges of the top wall panels may be secured to each other centrally of the carton in any desired manner such as by means of a tape, not shown. Also, if desired the top wall panels may be made of a width slightly greater than onehalf the width of the bottom wall panel so as to permit their being overlapped as they are folded into the closed position.

It will be noted that by the use of the inner connecting flaps to connect the inner closure flaps to the bottom wall panel the space between the inner connecting flaps can be varied to accommodate packaged articles of varying length in folders formed from the same size blank merely by changing the length of the cut lines 24 and the location of the hinge lines 22.

I claim:

A cushioned shipping folder, formed from a unitary blank of foldable paperboard, for packaging fragile articles, comprising:

(a) opposed pairs of parallel walls hingedly interconnected to form a tubular structure;

(b) an outer closure member connected to an end of a irst wall of one of said pairs of opposed walls;

(c) an inner closure member connected to a corresponding end of the second wall of said one pair of opposed walls;

(d) said outer closure member including:

(i) an outer end wall panel hinged at one edge to an end edge of said rst wall and extending between said first and second walls in a direction normal thereto to close the end of said tubular structure; and

(ii) an outer closure ap hinged at one edge to another edge of said outer end wall panel and secured to an outer surface of said second Wall in full face engagement therewith;

(e) said inner closure member including:

(i) an inner flap disposed in full face engagement with an inner surface of said one wall; and

(ii) at least one connecting ap cut from the stock of said second wall and said inner flap;

(iii) said connecting flap being hinged to said second wall and said inner flap along parallel fold lines located inwardly adjacent the end edges of said second wall and said inner flap;

(iv) said connecting flap being disposed parallel to said end wall panel and being spaced inwardly therefrom to define therewith a space for cushioning the contents of the folder.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,605,991 Gagen June 25, 1935 2,160,816 Barnes .Tune 4, 1939 2,176,274 Parnin Oct. 17, 1939 3,064,875 Mairs Nov. 20, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,213,754 France Apr. 4, 1960 

